The present invention relates generally to hitches for securing a harness to a sulky or similar vehicle, and more particularly to an apparatus and method for quickly releasing a harness from a shaft or other component of the sulky or other vehicle.
In the field of harness racing, a horse pulls a vehicle, known as a sulky, which is driven by a driver. The sulky includes a pair of outwardly extending shafts which are secured to the horse""s harness. A hitch is generally utilized to couple the shafts to the harness. One such hitch 100 is shown in the prior art drawings of FIG. 9. The hitch 100 includes a body 102 having a harness coupling portion 104 and a shaft coupling portion 106. The body 102 is unitary in construction. Namely, the body 102 may be constructed of several different individual components which are non-removably secured to one another by, for example, welding. As such, the harness coupling portion 104 is non-removably secured to the shaft coupling portion 106.
The body 102 also has C-shaped catch 108 defined therein. A pin or the like (not shown) associated with the shaft of the sulky is captured in the catch 108 in order to secure the hitch thereto. A lock mechanism 110 having a spring loaded pin 112 is utilized to lock or otherwise retain the pin of the shaft in the catch 108.
The horse""s harness is advanced through a number of openings 114 defined in the harness coupling portion 104 of the body 102. In particular, the horse""s harness may be looped or otherwise advanced through the openings 114 to secure the harness to the hitch. As such, the hitch 100 may be utilized to secure the harness to the shaft of the sulky.
The above identified configuration of a hitch 100 has a number drawbacks associated therewith. For example, the shaft of the sulky and the hitch must be maintained in a relatively narrow predetermined relationship with one another in order to allow the hitch to be uncoupled from the shaft. In particular, the coupling pins associated with the shaft must be advanced in a number of different directions to be inserted and/or removed from the catch 108 of the hitch 100. For example, to insert the pin of the shaft into the catch 108 of the body 102, the pin must first be advanced downwardly and then laterally into the catch 108 while the spring loaded pin 112 is positioned in a retracted position. Conversely, to remove the pin from the C-shaped catch 108, the spring loaded pin 112 is retracted such that the pin of the shaft may then be advanced laterally and upwardly so as to be disengaged from the hitch 100. Such two-directional movement of the pin is particularly difficult if the pin and C-shaped catch 108 are not aligned in a relatively parallel relationship with one another. Indeed, if the hitch and the shaft are skewed relative to one another, the pin may become jammed or otherwise engaged with the walls of the C-shaped catch 108 thereby preventing removal of the pin from the catch 108.
As such, the design of the hitch 100 renders the hitch difficult to disengage from the shaft during certain circumstances which may create an awkward and likely dangerous condition. For example, when a the horse becomes excited or unruly, the relative position between the hitch and the shaft is continuously changing thereby rendering very difficult the alignment necessary to disengage the pin of the shaft from the hitch 100.
This dangerous condition often occurs in the case of a spill or crash during operation of the sulky in which case the shafts may become positioned in a number of disarrayed orientations as a result of the crash which makes it difficult to align the hitches 100 with the shafts for purposes of removing the hitches 100 from the shafts. The dangerous condition often is exacerbated by the excited and unruly behavior of the horse reacting to the crash and to its inability to shed the sulky. Moreover, a horse attached to a sulky can become excited or unruly even without a spill or a crash, which also can be very dangerous to the driver and to the horse.
What is needed therefore is a hitch assembly which overcomes one or more of the above mentioned drawbacks.
The present invention in accordance with a preferred embodiment provides a hitch assembly for securing an animal harness to a sulky or other vehicle. The hitch assembly comprises a first frame member adapted to be secured to the animal harness, and a second frame member releasably secured to the first frame member in any suitable manner. The second frame member is adapted to be secured to the vehicle.
The hitch assembly desirably comprises a release assembly positionable between a secured position and a released position. The first frame member is secured to the second frame member when the release assembly is positioned in the secured position, and the first frame member is separable from the second frame member when the release assembly is positioned in the released position. In a preferred embodiment, the release assembly comprises a pin positionable between a pin-engaged position and a pin-disengaged position. The first frame member is secured to the second frame member when the pin is positioned in the pin-engaged position, and the first frame member is separable from the second frame member when the pin is positioned in the pin-disengaged position. The first frame member may also have a first hollow tube secured thereto and the second frame member may have a second hollow tube secured thereto. The pin is positioned in the first hollow tube and the second hollow tube when the pin is positioned in the pin-engaged positioned.
Desirably, the first frame member has a number of harness-receiving openings defined therein, and the second frame member has a locking assembly secured thereto operable to secure the second frame member to the vehicle. The locking assembly may, for example, secure the second frame member to a shaft or other component of the vehicle.
In an other embodiment, there is provided a method of operating a hitch assembly to release an animal harness from a vehicle. The method includes the step of decoupling a first frame member of the hitch assembly from a second frame member of the hitch assembly. The method also includes the step of moving the first frame member relative to the second frame member such that the first frame member is spaced apart from the second frame member.
In yet another embodiment, there is provided a hitch assembly for coupling a horse harness to a shaft of a sulky. The hitch assembly includes a first frame member having a number of harness-receiving openings defined therein. A second frame member is releasably secured to the first frame member. The second frame member has a locking assembly secured thereto which is operable to secure the second frame member to the shaft of the sulky.
In an other embodiment, there is provided a method of operating a hitch assembly to selectively secure and release a horse harness from a shaft of a sulky. The method includes the step of securing the hitch assembly to the horse harness and the shaft of the sulky such that a first frame member of the hitch assembly is coupled to the horse harness, and a second frame member of the hitch assembly is coupled to the shaft of the sulky. The method also includes the steps of decoupling the first frame member from the second frame member and moving the first frame member relative to the second frame member such that the first frame member is spaced apart from the second frame member.